Maybe the Minnesota Wild were too busy watching the Minnesota Twins during the first period to put together a sustained rush. Maybe they were too hyped up from watching their crosstown neighbors achieve the highly improbable for them to remember that they were playing their home opener until after they found themselves down 3-0.
Maybe all they needed was a good fight.
The Minnesota Wild entered their home opener with a record of 7-0-1, and they were hoping to extend it. They were also excited to show the hometown crowd what the new look Wild was going to be like. For two periods, it didn't look good. While part of the problem is still not having a good grasp on the system, the rest of the problem was more about not having a good grasp on hockey fundamentals. It wasn't until after the Ducks had beaten Niklas Backstrom three times that they stood up and paid attention. Not that Backstrom could have done much against any of those goals, as he was caught in a perfect storm of great shots and lousy defense.
Leave it to a player who almost didn't make the roster to change the tone, and then a player that was heralded as the new Wild savior to take control and put the pressure on. After John Scott and Martin Havlat turned the momentum, all the Wild needed to do was play the type of hockey Todd Richards has been hoping for from the first drop of the puck, and it resulted in an overtime winner for Minnesota.
Game pluses:
- John Scott. The big man stood up to another giant in the beginning of the third, getting into a fight with George Parros. Impressively, Scott knocked Parros to the ice, and the Wild took the energy from that confrontation to find their legs and change the game.
- Martin Havlat. Showcasing some of his puck handling skills, Havlat took control of the game, and notched the first assist on all three of the Wild's third period goals.
- Eric Belanger. Belanger finished the game between Martin Havlat and Petr Sykora, and brought a goal and two assists along with him. The veteran may be fighting to stay in Minnesota, and more periods like the third will only help.
Game minuses:
- Eric Belanger. The guy had a fantastic third period, but was very below average before that. Thankfully, he put it all together, but he has to start playing the right style earlier.
- Passing. Far too often, Wild passes went straight to Duck players, or worse, straight to open ice with nobody to take advantage of it. The first two periods also featured far too many passes for each shot.
- Defense. Watching the first and second period, it appeared that the Wild defense forgot who to cover, and just chased the puck instead. Again, they tightened up for the third, but the Wild aren't yet a team that can hope for too many come-from-behind victories.
Next up: The Wild leave the friendly ice of the Xcel Energy Center again, this time for two weeks as they head to their next game Thursday night against the Los Angeles Kings.
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